Australia vs India, first Test: Pat Cummins rejects Josh Hazlewood press conference controversy

Pat Cummins has rejected the suggestion Australia has a divided squad after Josh Hazlewood’s comments after Day 3 led to questions about team unity and ‘mental cracks’.

Pat Cummins has emphatically denied there is a split in the Australian change room after Josh Hazlewood came under fire for comments which critics said illustrated “cracks” in the team.

“No, not at all,” Cummins said.

“It’s a really tight unit. It’s probably one of the tightest teams I’ve ever played with. We really enjoy playing cricket together.

“We’ve been through a lot the last few years, the core group. So there’s no problems there.

“Everyone gets along really well. So all good.”

Hazlewood fronted the media after play on day three and was asked how his side would handle Monday from an effectively hopeless position of 3-12 chasing 534.

The Australian pacer effectively said it was a question for batters rather than the side’s No.11.

“You probably have to ask one of the batters that question,” he said.

“I’m sort of relaxing and trying to get a bit of physio and a bit of treatment, and I’m probably looking mostly towards next Test and what plans we can do against these batters.

It’s been a dire few days for Australia’s Test batters. Picture: Cameron Spencer/Getty Images

“I guess the batters are just sticking to what they want to do, their preparation. They’ll have a hit in the morning and talk around plans of how what happened the first innings, how they can negate that and move forward and improve on that.”

Ex-England skipper Michael Vaughan said he couldn’t believe Hazlewood would so publicly distance himself from the batters.

“I must admit, I’m staggered by that,” Vaughan said on Fox Cricket.

“Josh Hazlewood is a great bowler, terrific team member. Publicly, I’ve never heard an Australian come out and kind of divide the camp into batters and bowlers.

“There’s 11 batters. That will never change. Every single player has to bat.

“There’s two days to go in the Test match. It’s a long shot, a huge shot for Australia to get anything out of this game, but to publicly see a player basically saying, ‘I’m thinking about the next game before this game is finished.

“Publicly to come out and say that I’ve never, ever seen that from an Australian player, any player really, around the globe, but particularly Australians.”

Indian great and former coach Ravi Shastri said India could feed on a perception of a divided outfit with “mental cracks.”

Cummins insisted there was no division between batsmen and bowlers.

Josh Hazlewood’s patience had worn thin by stumps on day three. Picture: Saeed Khan/AFP

“There’s plenty of times where the batters have dragged us bowlers out of tight situations and we’ve done the same,” he said.

Former Australian opener David Warner said Hazlewood’s comments were probably an error, but didn’t think there was a divide in the camp.

“Look, I think as a senior player, you’ve probably got a duty of care as well,” Warner said on Fox Cricket.

“Yes, it was a long day. Those comments probably weren’t warranted. (But) I don’t think there’s a divide in there.”

Originally published as Australia vs India, first Test: Pat Cummins rejects Josh Hazlewood press conference controversy